UAE Censors Ban the Film "Black Swan"

[JCMach1]

UAE censors have once again missed the mark by banning Black Swan: a film that will most certainly be nominated for best picture at the upcoming Academy Awards. According to the Gulf News:

Two upcoming films, Black Swan and Love and Other Drugs, have been banned by the censors in the UAE for “excessive sexual content”, tabloid! has learned.

“Both these movies have been banned because of excessive sexual content,” said Mohammad Naser, the official responsible for cinemas at Dubai’s censorship department.

He said that movies sent to the department for censorship are approved, edited or banned. “When we find that the amount of editing required takes a big part of the movie, we conclude that there is no point in releasing it,” he said.

Naser said that in one of the two films the viewer would have been left with 25 per cent of the film had it been released after editing.

“Upon reviewing a film, the censorship department makes a decision, writes it in a report and hands the report to the distributors,” said Naser… http://gulfnews.com/arts-entertainment/film/two-upcoming-hollywood-films-banned-in-uae-for-explicit-content-1.741263

Having viewed the film already, it is clear to me that the censorship board is not fully reviewing films. The sexual content in Black Swan is quite small and could easily be clipped from the film. The remaining film has little, if any, offensive material.

When I hear cases like this, I remember being bored and taking my daughters to a G-rated movie in the UAE just a few years ago. The film was Grilled. First of all, it was absolutely dreadful. Secondly, the film was so violent and full of sexual innuendo (including homosexuality, cross-dressing, etc) that we almost had to walk out. It prompted a discussion and explanation for my 7 year old daughter what a drag queen was after the film was finished. While not a bad thing necessarily, it is NOT what you expect from a G-rated film.

The UAE need to take a close look at its film censorship and try to bring some consistency to bear on the matter. Personally, I am against any censorship. However, if it is going to happen, I would expect that appropriate agency to make the right call. In the case of the film Black Swan, they are wrong. http://usa2uae.com/2011/01/05/uae-censors-ban-the-film-black-swan/

POSTED IN ENTIRETY BY ME, THE AUTHOR

[JCMach1]

1. Of course, we know it's the homosexual scene... even worse,

they don't even bother to watch the films (actually doing their job). They are basing this on what they have read about the film. Grilled didn't open in the states so had little press (it was a straight to DVD film). Grilled was FAR worse and they rated it G. Seriously, :wtf:

[bananas]

3. I can understand "Grilled" because Sofía Vergara is so hot

http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMTY4MzY5MjIxMF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNzg0MjQ2MQ@@._V1._SX288_SY432_.jpg

[bananas]

2. Which was considered worse, "Black Swan" or "Love and Other Drugs" ?

[JCMach1]

4. Hmmm, they didn't state that--- our wonderful media here

:eyes:

I personally haven't seen Love and Other Drugs so can't comment either on my own perceptions.

[clyrc]

5. The things they overlook are hilarious

I sat in a Dubai movie theater this summer watching a movie called "Women in Trouble." Among other rather surprising things, there was a scene where a woman talks about a, um, special, relationship she had with her dog. I'm not sure the censors understand English all that well. That's the only thing I can figure.